Safety-guard for cars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' A. J. BROWN.

SAFETY. GUARD FOB. GARS.

No. 569,168. Patented 001;. 13, 1896.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR (No Model.) 2 Sheen -Sheet 2. A. J. BROWN. SAFETYGUARD FOR CARS.

No. 569,168. Patented Oct. 13, 1896.

6 WITNESSES: N N R UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

ANDRE\V J. BROWVN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY-G UARD FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,168, dated October13, 1896.

Application filed February 25, 1895. Serial No. 539,526. (No model.)

To all whom it may conccrnr Be it known that I, ANDREW J. BROWN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Safety- Gruardvfor Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in safety-guards for cars, and moreespecially to improvements in the construction therefor embodied inLetters Patent of the United States granted to me December 29, 1891, andnumbered 466,115.

My object is not only to provide means on the car whereby the guard maybe raised from or lowered to the track, but also means on the car forshifting the guard laterally, so that the front end thereof may beadjusted to cover the rails, whether the car is running on a straight orcurved track, the construction of the several parts and manner ofoperating the same being described hereinafter and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of asafetyguard and the means through which the same is operated, theseveral parts appearing as when attached to the front end of acar-platform which has one of the side sills removed, the safety-guardbeing in the down position, ready for duty. Fig. 2 is a side elevationsimilar to Fig. 1, wit-h the exception that the guard is shown folded upagainst the front of the car and one of the operative levers in achanged position. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the safety-guard andcar-platform on a scale one-half that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thewire-netting or other elastic filling for the frames of the guard notbeing shown. Fig. 4 is a plan of a portion of the front end of a car,showing safety-guard swung to a position to cover the rails when the caris running around a right-hand curve in the track, the filling for theguard-fram es being shown as a non-perforated material. Fig. 5 is asimilar plan to Fig. 4, except that the guard is shown in position tocover a left-hand curve in the track, the filling for the frames thereofbeing shown as wire-netting. Fig. 6 isa plan of the safetygnard framesin the down position, attached to the swivel-hanger for attaching sameto the car. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 6,looking in the direction indicated by arrow 9. Fig. 8 shows,respectively, a plan and a front elevation of the swivelhanger. Figs. 3to S, inclusive, are drawn to the same scale.

Similar letters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

The main guard-frame A is attached to a rock-shaft B, so as to becapable of vibration vertically from the position shown in Fig. 1 tothat in Fig. 2, there being an arm 0 extending from the shaft, to whicharm one end of a rod D is pivotally attached, the other end of this rodbeing pivotally attached to the lower end of an operating-lever E, whichis pivoted to a bracket E, which is attached to the body of the car, thelever extending up through the floor thereof and being provided with apawl, which engages in the teeth of a segment-rack, as shown.

At F is a vertically-disposed guard-frame, which is pivotally attachedto the main guardframe A, so that the two frames may fold together, asshown in Fig. 2. A chain G, or other similar flexible support, connectsthe front end of the main guard-frame on one side with the oppositefront side, the chain passing over pulleys G and G" and through a tube Hbetween the pulleys, and serves to hold the guard-frame at some desireddistance above the rails of the track when the guard is at the downposition.

The rock-shaft B is mounted in pivotal bearings at each end of aswivel-hanger I, the ends of this hanger curving downwardly andextending laterally of the car-body, so that when the central portionthereof is pivotally attached to the under side of the car by means of apintle-bolt J, Fig. 3, there is space between the rock-shaft and thecentral portion of the hanger to permit the projection of the usualcoupling device for the car, and the shape of the hanger also permits avibratory motion in a horizontal plane, to alimited extent, withont thehanger contacting with the car-coupling device or any support therefor.

At K is a foot-lever, which is pivoted at the under side, near thecenter of its length, to a low standard, which is secured to the topsurface of the bottom of the car, and there is an arm L from this lever.which projects downwardly through the fioor, and to the lower end ofthis arm is pivotally attached one end of a rod M, whose opposite end ispivotally attached to the swivel-hanger I. The lower end of arm 0 onrock-shaft B occupies such a relative position when the guard-frame isat the down position that the pivotal hole to receive the end of rod Dis substantially directly under the pivotal center or pintle-bolt J ofswivel-hanger I, so that any horizontal vibration of the swivel-hanger,causing a like motion to be imparted to the attached rockshaft, will notcause any appreciable pull or thrust upon rod D.

It is obvious that should one place a foot upon the end P of lever K andpress downwardly to the position indicated by the broken lines the rod Mwould be drawn backwardly, and with it one end of the swivel-hanger, theopposite end thereof moving forwardly, causing the front end of thesafety-guard to move laterally and assume the position shown in Fig. 4,but by pressing upon the opposite end of lever K from that justdescribed the safety-guard will be instantly moved over to the positionshown in Fig. 5, the suspensionchain G easily sliding through pipe II ineither direction, by passing over pulleys G G, and holding the front endof the safetyguard to any desired height above the railwaytrack.

WVhen the guard is lifted, it is first moved to the position adapted toa straight track, as shown in Fig. 3, when a movement of lever Ebackwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2causes rockshaftB to be turned a partial revolution and the attachedframes A and F lifted to the folded position shown in Fig. 2, all ofwhich has been fully described in the Letters Patent granted to me andhereinbefore referred to.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination in a safety-guard for carshaving a cushioned frame A forming a over the pulleys to permit lateralvibrations of the frame, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a car, of a horizontal rock-shaft B andoperating-lever E therefor upon the car, and a safety-guard at the frontend of the car comprising a main frame A filled with cushioningmaterial, and a cushioned back frame F connected pivotally with frame A,to fold against the same, and a chain connected with the car and withthe two frames which is adapted to hold them in position for duty, themain frame A rigidly connected with a rock-shaft to be swung in thevertical plane as the shaft is rocked, the shaft mounted in bearings ina hanger which is pivotally mounted on the car, to vibrate with theshaft and the safetyguard frames in a horizontal plane, and means on thecar through which the hanger is vibrated, substantially as described.

3. The combination in a safety-guard for cars of the chain or otherflexible support G, the pulleys G and G, and tube H between the pulleys,the chain attached to the safetyguard frames and operating over thepulleys and through the tube, in the manner and for the purpose asdescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand,this 19th day of February, 1895, in the presence of witnesses.

ANDREW J. BROWN.

Witnesses:

H. L. BROWN, OSCAR SNELL.

